NEW ORLEANS — Orleans Parish school district leaders voted to change policy and expand school bus transportation requirements for charter schools, which means that schools must now provide transportation for students through 8th grade, according to our partners at NOLA.com.
Previous policy dictated that school bus transportation was only required through 6th grade.
The Orleans Parish School Board President said this change would be easier for families after the board found out that a 4th grader from the International School of Louisiana was taking the bus to school, but her sister who was in 6th grade was forced to ride three RTA buses to get to school.
A family member of the sisters contacted the school board for help, which spurred them into action.
“It just didn’t make sense to us that this was happening,” said Orleans Parish School Board member Leila Eames, who represents New Orleans East.
While the ISL is authorized by a state board and does not follow Orleans School Board policy, most charter schools in New Orleans already offer school bus transport for the majority of students, even through high school, so the new policy will at the very least prevent any loopholes that could allow schools to deny school bus transportation to students in 7th or 8th grade.
An ISL spokeswoman told NOLA.com that they will continue their bus policy of school buses for students up to 5th grade and RTA passes for 6th through 8th grade.
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